Thursday, December 31, 2009

For Christmas my family bought me a new Canon Power Shot SX120 IS digital camera, which is sleek and black and probably realigns the Hubble telescope if I press the wrong button:

Seriously, I am really touched and pleased by the gift, which I hope will help me take some better photos in 2010. So I guess it's time to put the old Kodak into retirement, and to pass the torch this is the first picture I took with the new Canon:

Bye, old pal.

In 2010 I won't be posting a new picture every day, but as I promised I will keep the photoblog going and post whatever shots I do take that I think are interesting enough to share. Thanks to all of you who stopped in to comment and cheer me on; you made this project a real joy.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

We can't put tinsel on our Christmas tree because of the danger to the furry people around here, and these pagans I live with insist on having a star on top instead of an angel. But I still thought this year's tree was very pretty.

Monday, December 28, 2009

I was fortunate (or had the dumb luck) to take a few good shots this year; here are some I thought were pretty decent and that taught me something:

I'd never shot a picture looking into the sun before this sunset at a nearby lake.

Believe it or not, this was the very last shot I snapped at a RenFaire before my camera batteries went dead. Had no idea if I even got the shot until I went home and loaded fresh batteries into the camera.

I know technically speaking this shot of the spider and its web sucks. Don't care; still love it.

This was an odd shot in how Daliesque it turned out. Also one of the few extreme close-up shots of my needlework that I was able to take this past year.

My favorite of the black & white shots I took this year; taken while on a vacation weekend.

I think this shot of the posing heron does show that I've learned a little about photography while taking all the photos for PBWindow. I don't think I could have taken such a neat picture a year ago.

As for my personal favorite from the last twelve months, it's definitely this quick snap I took of my daughter and a friend's beautiful Tennessee Walker:

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I didn't think to take a before shot of this quilt, but when I acquired the piece it was basically a bundle of ripped, torn rags held together by the stitching and the backing. But the color and the size of the rings were rare and also my favorites, so I went at it.

I did the restoration work in my spare time when I could and replaced over three hundred of those little patches in the rings (each less than two inches wide) all the binding, repaired three fist-size holes in the backing and redid most of the center-ring X stitching. I also pruned about two pounds of bunched cotton-hull batting out of the corners to flatten them and inserted several batting patches where it had thinned or had been pulled out during multiple machine washings (why do people do that? It's bad for antique quilts.)

Everything was done by hand, and it took almost three years. Probably my best wedding ring restoration job to date.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

This piece of rainbow was remarkable because it didn't bow at all, but came straight down like a celestial spotlight. Also, my daughter took this shot because I was driving at the time we saw it, and I'd have probably run into someone trying to snap the image. Thank you, Kat.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

I was going through some of my old Christmas quilts when I found this one from 1995. Back in those days I would make a lot of little hand-pieced/hand-quilted lap pieces because I was either pregnant, nursing, changing diapers or at the pediatrician; I carried around a ziplock bag of precut strips and would assemble them into log cabin blocks. I also crocheted a king-size quilt that way -- one 4" block at a time.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Thursday, November 26, 2009

My edible centerpiece didn't turn out quite as planned -- they didn't have pretty white or concord grapes at the market -- but I found some gorgeous blush grapes the size of walnuts and decided to add a couple pieces of fruit and some nuts I already had on hand (the gold-wrapped coins are Godiva chocolates, an annual indulgence):

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

About PBWindow

This amateur photography blog began in 2009 as a year-long art experiment by New York Times bestselling author Lynn Viehl. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs posted were taken with a Canon Power Shot SX150 IS, a Canon Power Shot SX120 IS, or a Kodak EasyShare C743 Digital Camera. To see a larger version of any image, click on the photo in the post. You can visit Lynn's author blog here.

Legal Stuff

Unless noted with a photo credit and source link, all images on PBWindow are original photographs taken by Lynn Viehl, or images to which Lynn Viehl owns all rights

Copyright 2008-2014 by Lynn Viehl
All Rights Reserved

Visitors have Ms. Viehl's permission to use any of her images for educational/not-for-profit purposes (all of the photos published on PBWindow are also available at Ms. Viehl's Photobucket page. A byline credit and a source link cited with the image would be appreciated. All other photos may not be used without first obtaining permission from the respective photographer.